The Triad Will Rise
by Lucyinthesky8
Summary: An ancient trio of sorcerers threatens Camelot.
1. An IllFated Message

**The Triad Will Rise **

**Prologue**

_The steady, frigid wind gusted over the moors, and the messenger clutched his cloak tighter to his chest. In the distance he could just make out the outline of turrets; his destination. The_

_ castle of Lord Meridan. He stumbled over the grassy terrain, intent on reaching the warmth of the castle. Licking his chapped lips, the messenger pondered, as often he did, the contents of_

_ his delivery. A love letter, perhaps, or a will. Something told him he was wrong, this was not an ordinary assignment. Something told him this was much bigger. He continued on his_

_ journey, but his curiosity burned. Surely, nobody would notice if he took a quick peek at the letter? The messenger cautiously opened the envelope, not sure what to expect. The paper_

_ had only two lines of text. He read it quickly, before folding the paper hurriedly back up and stuffing it in his breast pocket. He considered what he had read, but the words on the page_

_ meant nothing to him. Sighing, he pulled his cap farther down on his head, and continued trudging along._

**Chapter One : An Ill-fated Message**

The great doors of Meridan's study cautiously creaked open, and his butler poked his head through the crack.

"My Lord, a messenger for you. Shall I…?"

"Send him in", a cold voice commanded from the back of the room. A sliver of light filtered into the musty room through the heavy, red and gold curtains cascading from the ceiling. Meridan

knew exactly what the message would say, he had been awaiting this day for many decades. The door opened once more, and a gangly, awkward-looking young man entered the study.

Meridan noticed him glance around, and lick his lips apprehensively. The messenger bowed, deeper than necessary.

"My Lord. I have a message for you. I know not of it's contents, only that it is from Lord LaMonte, of-"

"I know where LaMonte hails from, boy, give me the letter." The sorcerer boomed. The messenger jumped slightly at the interruption, and with a shaking hand he gave the message to the

older man. Meridan glanced at it, and then up at the young man, a hint of amusement playing across his face.

"You do realize, boy, that I am not a fool?" The messenger, quivering with fear, nodded slightly.

"Then you surely must realize that it is blatently obvious that this letter has been tampered with. You have opened this letter and read it, have you not?"

The messenger hesitated slightly, but nodded his head in assent. He was surely dead now, one of the most powerful warlocks in the land knew he had read his mail.

"Leave, boy."

The young man's face broke out into a wide grin.

"Oh thank you, thank you my lord. It will never happen again!"

A humourless smile spread across Meridan's face_.__ "__Ca 'n lladdedig," _ the sorcerer muttered.

His eyes widening in shock, the messenger stopped in his tracks and fell to his knees. A small wimper escaped his mouth, before his body crumpled and fell to the floor. Meridan stepped

over him, looking at the motionless figure on the floor with distaste. "Let this be a lesson to you, boy. Do not cross me." As he strode out of the room, the small piece of paper fluttered

from his hand, falling face-up on the floor. It read:

_It is time, Meridian. _

_Once again, the Triad will rise. _

_- L, S_


	2. The Practical Uses of Mandrake Root

Chapter Two : The Practical Uses of Mandrake Root 

Merlin flipped through the last pages of the thick book, hurriedly scanning the the text and trying to get the last of his studying done before Gaius was due back.

"Purple-ish green in colour…it's cry can be fatal…" He muttered to himself. Earlier in the day, he had made the mistake of telling Arthur that Gaius expected him to memorize the whole of "700 Practical Uses of Mandrake Root". With a gleeful grin, Arthur had proceeded to recite a list of chores for Merlin to complete by that evening. Needless to say, Merlin was not exactly well versed in the uses of the mandrake root by the time Gaius returned from his shopping.

"Merlin! Help me with this shopping!" Merlin jogged over to the door, making sure to not bump all the complex contraptions Gaius had set up on the work table that morning.

"How was your day, Gaius? Did you get a lot of work done? Here, let me help you with that!" Merlin burbled. Gaius looked at the boy suspiciously.

"What is it, Merlin?" Gaius glanced worriedly at his work table. "Have you ruined my experiment?"

With a reassuring smile, Merlin told him of the work Arthur gave him, resulting in his not doing his homework. The old man sighed.

"And have you finished the work for Prince Arthur? I won't have you not finishing work for the sake of some herbs, Merlin, now run along."

Merlin jogged along the hallway leading to Arthur's chambers, hoping he would catch him just running out the door. Ideally, Arthur would be busy being a prince somewhere, so Merlin could finish his work with magic. All of a sudden, an unseen force hit Merlin with incredible strength, nearly knocking him over. He fell to his knees and his head whipped around, looking for the source of the pain. After a couple of seconds, he realized that the pain had come from inside his head. Merlin pondered his sanity for a minute or two, before realizing that it was the same kind of pulse that he felt when there was immensely powerful magic in Camelot. Perturbed by his discovery, Merlin considered informing Gaius right away. Every ounce of his gut instinct was telling him to, but all that work he had to do for Arthur….

"Merlin! What happened?" Gwen cried, hurrying over to where Merlin still sat, dazed.

"Oh, Gwen! Nothing happened, I just…fell." Gwen gave him a skeptical look, but asked no more questions. As she accompanied him back to Gaius's, Gwen asked "Merlin… you wouldn't happen to have seen Morgana lately? I just went in to help her get ready for bed, but she wasn't there. I'm not worried, yet, but it's just strange, you know? She's usually right there, sitting on her bed, but today I've seen neither head nor tail of her since dinner."

Merlin chuckled. "Gwen, I'm sure she was just talking to Arthur, or Uther even. I'm sure if you go check on her now she'll be there. I'll be fine, I just tripped over my own feet. Embarrassing, really. Don't tell anyone, okay?"

Gwen looked slightly bemused, but agreed. She said goodbye to Merlin and made her way to Morgana's chambers.

By the time Merlin stumbled through the door of his home, Gaius was in bed and there was a bowl of what looked like cold water with some soggy chunks in it. Hesitantly, he walked towards the table and sat down. The "stew" didn't taste too terrible, and Merlin was starving. After the first half-hearted sip, he down the dinner Gaius had left out for him in a matter of minutes. As he crawled beneath the covers of his bed, he contemplated all that had happened that day. He had dismissed Gwen's fears for Morgana, in retrospect that may have been unwise. After that first pulse of intense magic, the rest of the evening had been comparatively quiet. The ringing and buzzing in his head had only just died down, when Merlin lay his head on the pillow and immediately fell asleep.


	3. Trouble In Paradise

_**A/N : I just realized I should pop a little disclaimers thang up here…I don't own Merlin or any of these characters! Sorry for the delay, but without further ado : The next chapter of my first fanfic! (I'm working on lengthening the chapters, bear with me)**_

Chapter 3 :

Morgana stared out her window at the courtyard below. The snow was just starting to fall, and the early morning chill sat heavy over Camelot. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a figure in a red robe dart through the column. She craned her neck, hoping for a better look , but there was no one in sight. Morgana signed in desperation; this was happening more and more frequently. Over the past week, she had been finding herself somewhere, staring off into space, and could not for the life of her remember how she got there.

"Why is this happening to me?" She cried in frustration, not expecting anyone to hear.

"Morgana!" Gwen rushed into the room, grinning from ear to ear. "I'm so glad you're back, I came in last night to help you get ready for bed, but you weren't here! Were you okay by yourself?"

"Yes, _Guinevere,_I am a capable woman. It is well within my abilities to wash and get dressed." Morgana's voice was full of malice, and it chilled Gwen to the core. She had never heard the king's ward speak this way. Insulted and a little stricken by Morgana's disparaging tone, Gwen backed towards the doors. "My lady." She muttered the obligatory farewell coldly.

Morgana, shocked, stared at the spot Gwen had inhabited only moments before. Gwen, practically her sister. The woman that had stood by her no matter what, the only true friend she had ever known, and Morgana had just alienated her completely. She raised a shaking hand to her face, faintly aware of the tears streaming down her cheeks. She felt only half-there, as if something else resided in her mind, and was slowly sucking out the very essence of Morgana. She threw herself on her bed and, for the first time in nearly ten years, truly wept.

_The three sorcerers stood, encircling an intricate sphere of runes drawn on the ground. Their robes swirled around them, an unearthly dance. "Gewn 'n gyffensor. Mo 'n ddibaldor." Their voices intoned, creating an eerie harmony. The winds picked up on the plateau atop which the three sorcerers stood, and a swirling column rose around their circle. One last chant was uttered, and then… silence. The mist slowly dissipated, and standing in the middle of their runes was a young woman. LaMonte's face spread into a wide grin._

"_Hello, Kendra. Nice to see you again."_

"Come on, Gwen, it will be fun!" Guinevere looked dubiously out the fourth floor window, at the snow piling up in drifts.

"To me, Merlin, fun is sitting inside when it's snowing. You know, _warm._ Besides, I have to change the flowers on Morgana's beside table, they must be wilting by now. Though where I'm going to get flowers _now_, I'll never know…"

"Guinevere. Morgana can survive one day without fresh flowers on her bedside table. Have some fun!"

Gwen frowed, slightly insulted by Merlin's comment, but in the end gave in.

The pair trecked through the snow banks building up in the courtyard, Gwen still doubtful that they could have any fun while being this cold. To be fair, Merlin had never promised warmth. He jogged ahead, clearing the snow for her, then came back and walked beside her, matching his strides with hers. Gwen smiled to herself slightly, acutely aware of how close the two were walking. It occurred to her that she didn't know where they were going, and she didn't really mind. She felt strangely at peace, walking with Merlin, and had almost forgotten the ordeal that morning with Morgana. Almost, but not quite.

"Merlin…" She began, not quite sure how she wanted to put what she had to say. "Merlin, I really don't have the time. As much as I appreciate this…well, you know Morgana! Her bed must be made and her curtains drawn by evening!" Gwen uttered a nervous laugh.

"Of course, I understand. I suppose Gaius will have something he wants done as well."

With a thankful smile, Gwen tentatively turned around and started walking back towards the castle. Merlin watched her go, her royal blue robes a stark contrast to the blanket of snow covering the courtyard.


End file.
